Three Summers Ago
by 815
Summary: The ice cream lies in the fridge. The photo lies on the desk. Their memories lie in their hearts. They remember as the stars shine overhead and a blue trophy collects their light. — Hayner, Olette, Pence


**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Kingdom Hearts_.

**Summary:** The ice cream lies in the fridge. The photo lies on the desk. Their memories lie in their hearts. They remember as the stars shine overhead and a blue trophy collects their light. — Hayner, Olette, Pence

* * *

It had been three summers.

The sky was a clear blue and no cloud covered any piece of it. The air was fresh—the scent of the sun. The rays of it shined off of the tram that rode around Twilight Town, stopping at every place to pick up passengers and then move to the next area where, one by one, each person would get off.

The tram stopped at Sunset Hill and there Hayner, Olette, and Pence got off. Each of them was older now but, even so, they still did everything together. They had thought about many things every time summer came around. They thought about Sora, the Struggle—the mansion hidden in the woods. They would even venture out of their safe little town and travel to the abandoned piece of land that had, by now, collected dust. They would go inside it sometimes too and see if the machine was still working—to see if they might be able to go where Sora had gone.

But each time they went into the basement, each time they managed to find the machine again, they did not touch it.

They let it be. They let it sit there and collect dust just like the rest of the mansion. They let it sit there and collect dust because they are afraid about what they might find on the other side.

* * *

"The first day of summer." Hayner pumped up his fist. "Alright."

Olette smiled. "You always say that," she said, crossing her arms in front of her. "So what will we do?" She turned to the boy next to her, installing new film in his camera. "Pence? What do you think?"

Pence shrugged. "Ah…" he muttered, holding up his camera to the light. "I don't know."

"Ah whatever," Hayner muttered. "Just anything but homework." After saying that, he received a light punch on his arm from Olette. "Hey!"

"Ok…" she drawled. "Why not go to the Usual Spot?"

Pence laughed. "You sure we'll be able to fit through the gate?"

Hayner shook his head. "That's so dumb," he said. "We just came from the Market Square. Let's do something here first before going back."

Olette paused, thinking for a moment. Then she nodded. "I guess that's more reasonable," she said. Then she laughed. "Never thought you'd say anything reasonable. Surprised me there, Hayner."

He sniffed. "Yeah, well… I can be reasonable when I want to."

Pence laughed along with Olette. "And why don't you ever want to—Ow!"

"Shut up," Hayner said, but he laughed along too.

* * *

They go and stand on the hill to look at the sunset. They explore the underground routes throughout the city for awhile as well, etching their names onto the same wall, or simply having a race to see who could make their way to one entrance faster than the other. It was a competition, sure, but it was done in a fashion that made everyone feel like a winner. They would tease each other before laughing and then going up through the stairs into the next part of town.

They visited the Synthesis Shop nearby Market Square and synthesized items that they found in the Woods or items that were washed up on the beach. Later they would sell the items they made to the venders of the shops in Market Square. They would keep the munny that they earned for the train—the train that would take them to the beach.

The beach they had not visited since three summers ago.

The three of them got jobs. Hayner would help the storeroom man carry the load up the hill nearby the train station. Olette would help a vendor lady sell her potions and other healing items to customers that came their way. Pence helped entertain the crowd because, despite his appearance, he was quite the acrobat.

And they spent the entire day doing those things.

They forgot to go to the Usual Spot.

One of them would always manage to pinch it into a conversation one way or another, but they always managed to go around it. It was as if they were afraid of entering the spot that had made the usual activity out of the ordinary. Either it was the red-haired man in the black cape, or the red-haired girl that came out of nowhere. It disrupted the sense of things and they figured that if they never went in there again, everything would be ordinary.

But as they part ways at the end of the day to go to their own homes, the three of them would exchange brief good-byes and in those good-byes was the tension of something unfulfilled—an unfulfilled duty that flooded their minds, and even though no one said it out loud, each of them knew the other could feel it too.

* * *

The first day of summer had ended.

The night was humid. The breeze every now and then was comfortable—almost warm. It was a night such as this that the three went out of their homes and made their way to the Usual Spot.

Yes, they were surprised when they saw the other there. They were surprised, but there was a mutual understanding – a silent understanding. The understanding that it was instinct. Yes, it was instinct. They threw away their common sense of the mind and, instead, followed the common sense of their hearts. And they pulled back the worn gate, opened the cloth that concealed their spot, and sat down in their respective places.

There was a moment of silence as each of them stared through the tram tracks that lay above their heads to look at the stars.

* * *

It was after this moment of silence that the three of them got up. They began to dust the chairs, the desk—everything in the middle of the night. Once again it was instinct.

And as they dusted each of them came across something particular. Something that they had not seen since three summers ago.

* * *

Pence came across the small fridge in the corner of the Usual Spot. He smiled, remembering the time he had bought it here after finding it in the garage in his house. He had taken it to the mechanic over in Sunset Hill to fix it, and then bought it to the Usual Spot on the second day of summer.

**·.**

"_What the-?" Hayner stood up from where he sat. "What the heck is that… _thing_?"_

_Pence had set it in the corner atop of the desk. "Err… I wasn't really sure at first," he admitted, patting the top of the box, "but the mechanic over at Sunset Hill said it was a fridge." Pence laughed. "I thought it would be… you know, useful and stuff…" He opened it to feel the coolness it emitted. "It makes for a great air conditioner, yeah?"_

_Olette laughed. "What are we going to do," she said, "put the ice cream in it?"_

_Hayner was taken aback. "No way!" he cried. "That's a great idea!"_

_She frowned. "I was just kidding, you know."_

**·.**

Pence opened it slowly. There was nothing in it except a sea salt ice cream.

The object seemed to wash over him, although he found no words to describe what he was feeling. He began to take out the ice cream bar, which proved to be slightly difficult as it was frozen to the bottom of the fridge for being inside so long. He took it out and studied it for a moment. He considered eating it, but something held him back.

Instinct.

He felt as if this ice cream bar was, no matter how stupid it may sound, reserved for someone.

He remembered when the three of them had found it three summers ago. He remembered feeling the same instinct as he did not and he remembered as the three of them decided to put it in the fridge in the corner of the Usual Spot.

* * *

As she was dusting the couch over, Olette had found a small blue marble in between one of the seat cushions. She held it up to the sky and watched as the moon slid through the tram tracks above to shine off of its clear surface. She stood like such for awhile as memories came back to her. She saw her own reflection in the surface of the marble, no – the trophy, as she remembers.

**·.**

_Olette had pulled something from the couch. "Whoa!" she cried, startling the two other boys in the Usual Spot. The two of them had rushed by her side._

_Pence stared at it with big eyes, mesmerized in its blue color. "Hey," he said, "that's pretty cool…"_

"_What is it?" Hayner said, gesturing toward the marble. "Looks like it's from the Struggle trophy…" He frowned. "Uh oh," he muttered. "What if Sora forgot to take it with him?" He threw his head back. "Man! I would feel bad if I lost it!"_

_Pence shrugged. "So we should return it to him?"_

_Hayner groaned. "Like, _how_?" He looked over to Olette. "Yo, Olette! Got any ideas?"_

_Through all of this discussion, Olette had been sitting on the couch, studying the marble. There was silence in the Usual Spot until Olette spoke. "Maybe… Maybe we should keep it."_

_Hayner frowned, not expecting the answer. "Keep it?" he replied, skeptical. "Shouldn't we, like, at least _try_ to find some way to return it?"_

_She frowned, biting her lip. "I feel like… I really feel like we're supposed to keep it."_

_Silence flooded the Usual Spot again as the feeling from her heart seemed to expand and enter those of Hayner and Pence. And the three had stood there for awhile, studying the marble and memorizing their own reflection as it shown in a blue hue on the clear surface of the object. And then, Olette placed it on the sofa cushion next to her, breaking the trance._

"_C'mon," she said, breaking the tension. "I think the tournament might start soon."_

**·.**

The trophy felt heavy in her hands, but slowly, the heaviness subsided and she figured… No, she knew.

She knew that it was a small trinket. She knew it was a small trinket sitting on the palm of her hand. She knew it was a small trinket sitting on the palm of her hand filled with memories that she does not remember and as the stars shine overhead she finds herself remembering memories although they may not be the ones she has forgotten.

* * *

Hayner moved the pens and pencils out of the way. He paused for a moment, and then put them in the drawer along the rim of the desk, figuring it would be a heck of a lot easier to dust it off when there's nothing on top of the desk in the first place. As he pulled open the drawer, hearing the scraping of wood against wood, that was when he saw it.

There was a picture among the countless items that were inside that they—as a group—did not consider to be "junk." Hayner picked up the photo and he studies it, knowing each of the faces except that boy next to him. The first name that comes to mind is Sora, but he shrugs it off because he looks different and he dresses different and, although he does not know, he thinks he might've been different in terms of personality too.

His finger traced over each of their faces, landing on the anonymous boy last. _Last_, he thought, _but not least_.

* * *

Hayner felt things coming back to him—memories long forgotten and, although he stands for a moment trying, he still cannot remember. He wondered if they were memories that had actually happened, or things he had done while he was half asleep or half awake or half there. But he felt them even though he may not remember and he was engulfed in this strange feeling but, as time passes, he realized it is not strange at all.

The feeling gave off a warm glow overtime and Hayner felt as if it had gone and settled into his heart to fully bloom when he was ready. When he was prepared. When he could bring himself to remember things that did not happen, may have happened… But they did. They did happen.

He just did not know it.

Hayner raised his head from the photo and looked around the room. His eyes landed on two of his friends, but he felt another presence in the room. Olette and Pence's head snapped up at once with his and they both turn around, their eyes focused on what his own eyes were focused on.

But they saw nothing.

But… they had felt something.

* * *

It was awhile before Hayner felt the photo in his hands, the ground beneath his feet. He looked over to Pence who was holding a sea salt ice cream in his hand limply, not noticing that it was beginning to drip.

"That ice cream is going to get old if we don't eat it," he said out loud. Olette and Pence turn to him, snapping out of their own trance.

"Oh," Pence muttered hesitantly, "this?"

Hayner nodded.

Pence sighed. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, you're probably right."

But he does not move for a long time and Hayner and Olette feel as if a heavy weight has landed where their standing, and when he does move they hold their breath in although they did not realize it and then lets out when they realize it is to put the ice cream back into the small fridge in the corner of the Usual Spot.

Hayner and Olette move to crowd around the fridge and, one by one, they put the marble and the photo on top of the fridge. Olette adjusts them just right so that the marble catches the light the moon and the stars give off and to make sure that the photo of the four of them was caught in the light so that they could see it from a distance.

* * *

The three stand there once more under the stars, staring at the three objects: the photo and marble on top and the ice cream left in the fridge, its door opened wide.

"Maybe… we're not ready," Olette said.

"Maybe," Hayner muttered.

"We have time," Pence replied.

The three share an understanding and as they leave the Usual Spot to go their own separate ways, they stop in the middle of the pathway they are walking on to look at the direction from where they came. But then they turn their backs on that direction and continue walking home to go to bed.

They know they will see each other the next day in the same spot.

As usual.

Like it was, back three summers ago.

* * *

**A/N. **I wanted to write a story like this for a long time, but I had never found the inspiration until now. There are probably a ton of stories like this, but I wanted to try it out on my own. It didn't come out as it was originally planned, however.


End file.
